Halloween is next week! Back home my friends and I used to always check out the NYC Halloween parade in the village. Anyone in costume can join in the parade. It’s always amusing seeing the home-made creations people come up with. I made Keiji’s first Halloween costume out of some fuzzy brown fabric I found [...]
Posts under ‘Daily Life’
My Budding Photographer
Following in his grandpa’s footsteps, Keiji is becoming a quite a photographer. He always wants to take a photo, but I am a bit reluctant to hand over my digital camera when we are outdoors and walking along concrete. When it feels relatively safe I will hand the camera over to him he is always [...]
Viewing the Summer Fireworks 花火
Launched from Rinko Park, Yokohama 横浜 Summer in Japan is a time for fireworks displays. All throughout there are huge fireworks displays, lasting about 30 – 40 minutes long. In preparation for the show it’s quite common to bring a bento and some cold beer, get out the picnic mats and set up at a [...]
More Matsuri Fun
There are matsuri (festivals) all over Tokyo during the summers. The matsuri, apart from being a time when the mikoshi is carried around for good luck, is actually like a big Japanese block party. Not only is it ok to drink beer outdoors from early morning until late at night, but there are lots of [...]
A Tour of a Typical Japanese Apartment
The Tatami Room Almost every apartment in Tokyo has at least 1 tatami room, meaning the flooring or that room is made of tatami mats. Most rooms in Japan, even with wood flooring, are still measured by the number of tatami it can hold. The typical room is about 6 tatami. The tatami room in [...]
Birthday Party!
I really wanted to have a birthday party for the kids this year. Normally I would just throw a little party at our home but our current apartment is just too small and not comfortable for entertaining. So I thought, “Where can I throw a birthday party?”
A Tour of a Typical Japanese Apartment
Whenever I’d visit friends or family in Los Angeles or some other state It’d always make me feel like our apartment in New York City was so small. When Keiji was born, I was so certain we’d need to move to a bigger place. But we’ve done just the opposite and moved to Tokyo! Now [...]
Sanja Matsuri
Asakusa 浅草, Taito-ku 台東区 Milie, Aki and Wes invited us and some other families to take part in the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa. It was really fun. If it hadn’t been for Milie putting together a small party to celebrate the festival I don’t think we ever would’ve had a chance to go to see [...]
Boys’ Day
May 5th is a National Holiday in Japan called Tango no Sekku (Boys’ Day), but now known as Children’s Day.
The start of Golden Week
Golden Week started yesterday. I always knew Golden Week in Japan is a week of holidays, but I never really knew exactly what. So I finally Google it to find out more. Since we live here now I think really should know the national holidays. And now I know that during Golden Week there are [...]